Tag: punk
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Psychedelic Porn Crumpets live at NUSU review – rapid-fire riffs hit like a drug
Kick-starting their umpteenth UK tour, the Crumpets are very much a well-buttered machine these days. A strong ninth album has only bolstered their set list of precision-tooled riffs and prog rock neck-breakers. NUSU’s paltry sound system simply couldn’t keep up.
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Maruja live at the Wardrobe review – more like an exorcism than a gig
Last year in Newcastle Maruja were great, but now with a brilliant debut album under their belt the Manchester experimental rock group are truly astounding. Equally capable of fiercely political belters and quiet moments of spiritual transcendence, never has a gig made me feel quite so much.
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Olivia Rodrigo live at Co-op Live review – post-Glasto victory lap is a teenage dream
Inexhaustible despite an exceptionally busy few days, the American pop phenom’s Manchester set felt every bit like a showcase from one of present-day pop’s greatest stars. Don’t be fooled by her early Disney career or the adoring audience of young girls – Rodrigo’s music is thoughtful, sophisticated, and surprisingly grungy.
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PUP live at Project House review – propulsive pop punk pandemonium
The Canadian racket-makers specialise in gloomy songs about hopelessness and self-loathing, but this thrilling blitz of bangers in Leeds brought nothing but joy to an amped up crowd eager to throw their drinks – and each other – in the air.
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‘Often the first thought you have is the best one’: Divorce on their instinctive, brilliant debut album
Felix and Kasper from Divorce discuss their critically acclaimed new album and the key to its occasionally baffling lyrics.
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Welly: Big In The Suburbs review – puts the fun back in British indie rock
Welly’s debut album is winningly silly, although its political satire feels a little too safe, and the comedy in Elliot Hall’s cartoonish vocals wears thin quickly.
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Maruja live at the Cluny review – an extraordinary plunge into hell
The Manchester noise merchants provided all the expected thrills – tempestuous drumming, atmospheric saxophone, sharp-tongued poetry – and added sweeping improvisations and stupendous operatic climaxes. This tepid Newcastle crowd was spoiled rotten.
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Soft Play live at NX review – shirtless punks ignite a brutal mosh pit
The hardcore Kent punks are noted for their unusual lyrical vulnerability, but in truth this gig was all about deafening, apoplectic rock bangers. The resulting mosh pit chaos left this reviewer floored – literally.
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SOFT PLAY: HEAVY JELLY review – redemptive riot delivers on all fronts
The Kent punk duo SOFT PLAY hold nothing back on their deafening fifth album. There are ample pulse-quickening riffs to whip up the mosh pit, but also plenty of nuance and introspection to reward repeat listens, not least a tender surprise at its climax.
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Fast Blood: Sunny Blunts review – a wallop of modern punk
After discovering that Fast Blood were the chosen opening act for Mannequin Pussy’s live show at The Grove in Newcastle, Alex Walden decided to give their latest album a deep dive to hear just what he missed out on. It’s safe to say that he was not disappointed.
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“They’ll definitely blow your mind”: five of the best female rock bands on the rise
To celebrate International Women’s Day, Alex Walden takes a deep dive into the world of alternate rock music to showcase some new female groups on the rise who are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
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Squid live at Boiler Shop review – oddball post-punk casts a spell
Squid’s twisted, ugly brand of post-punk rock music was a perfect match for the industrial surroundings of Newcastle’s finest gigging venue for a set packed with interest and surprises, not least a theatrical twist at its climax.
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Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS review – the rallying cry of a generation
Equally packed with punk rock instant classics and beautifully understated piano ballads, Olivia Rodrigo’s bravura second album is somehow fiercer, wittier and altogether even stronger than her Grammy-sweeping debut.
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Jeff Rosenstock: HELLMODE review – punk’s golden boy plays it safe
Billed as both his most chaotic and “solid” record so far, Jeff Rosenstock’s seventh full-length is neither, but still provides its fair share of satisfying if familiar punk rock hits.
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Jeff Rosenstock live at Belgrave Music Hall review – songs to tear the roof off
Critically acclaimed punk rocker Jeff Rosenstock marked his return to the UK with an explosive, sweat-drenched performance in Leeds, packed with clever changes of pace, raucous singalongs and underlying anti-capitalist rage.
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